Page 25 - IB August 2021

Olympics Olympics

“All in all, this is a great time…At the end of the day, I’m here to participate. Most people aren’t
going home with medals. I’m just honoured and thrilled to be here.”
Nathan Crumpton (American Samoa) 100m Sprinter who ran a time of 11.27seconds in Tokyo

“I was up against some of
the world’s best and expe- “This was the best race I have ever
rienced lifters that I admire swum in an actual meet and I am
and look up to. I was happy with the time. This is only the
motivated to do my best second competition I’ve competed in,
because I want to be like since the start of the pandemic”.
them and maybe one day, PNG swimmer Judith Meauri
beat them” said Abouke.
18 year old Nauruan
weightlifter, Nancy
Abouke, who is now
th
ranked 10 in the women’s
76kg category after her
Tokyo 2020 Olympic debut

“I’m incredibly proud “I really felt that I was at the right place at the right time and I
of myself, and I hope
to inspire Pacific Island haven’t felt like that in a long time
Women to get involved “I also felt that things were within reach for me. So I’m excited for
with distance running.” the future.
Solomon Islander Banuve Tabakaucoro (Fiji) 100m Sprinter ran a 10.70 in the first
Sharon Firisua was the round and 10.59 in the second round in Tokyo
country’s first athlete
to compete in the
marathon event. She
ran a personal best
time, and set a new na-
tional record, clocking
3:02:10.
“I was really happy to rep-
resent the country and to
learn new ideas from other
international athletes from
other first world countries.
When I return home, I should
share these ideas learnt to
our young lifters.”
Solomon Islands weightlifter
Mary Lifu. She finished 14
th
in the 55kg category in
Tokyo
“I was just happy to be here…My very first experience.
My very first run at the Olympics. This was fun.”
Scott Fiti (Federated States of Micronesia) 100m
sprinter on running 11.25 seconds he’ll remember
forever

Islands Business, August 2021 25